This is a 2D-barcode containing the address of our mobile site. If your mobile has a barcode reader, simply snap this bar code with the camera and launch the site.
Yahoo have updated their Upcoming mobile website to be much more feature rich than the previous version. Although it provides an iPhone-like interfact, this still works well on multiple devices, and now provides much more user specific information. If you are a regular Upcoming user, then head to m.upcoming.yahoo.com to access the new site.
This is an innovative desk stand for your phone. As well as including an 8-in-1 memory card reader, a 2 port USB hub, having a variety of connectors to charge your phone, and running solely off USB power, it also claims to be able to hold any phone in portrait or landscape formats without any additional support!
The Desk Genie is apparently made from a special rubberised material, which is strong enough to hold an phone in portrait or landscape positions, and should even still hold the phone in place when the phone is vibrating, yet should leave no sticky residue on the phone. For only £15 (+ delivery) this looks an interest device, if only to hold your phone at the right angle for use on your desk, let alone all the additional properties it has.
Mobile Fun do warn that with time the rubbery surface’s ability to hold a phone will fade as dust collects on the surface, but a quick wipe with clean water should restore it back to normal.
As for those mobile phones charging connectors: iPhone, Nokia (both 2mm and 3.5mm), Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG are all supported, as are the miniUSB and microUSB formats (the latter being the standard connector for many manufacturers moving forward). This power connector does not use either of the USB ports on the device, although it would appear at first glance that this is a power only connector, so it may not be possible to sync and charge many devices (unless you use Bluetooth to sync between the device and your PC/Mac).
You can see more of the Desk Genie at Mobile Fun.
To compete against SkypeOUT, Nimbuzz have now launched their equivalent service, NimbuzzOut, which offers the ability to make international calls at a discounted rate. In a similar style, you need to TopUp your account with credit, and are then able to make cheaper calls to landlines and mobile phones. For example, a call to a French landline would cost €0.0135 per minute, and the same cost to a US landline too. In comparison, SkypeOUT will charge€ 0.020 per minute for the same countries.
It should be said that Nimbuzz offers US$ or EUR€ pricing, not GB£, so you will always have some element of currency conversion in there.
NimbuzzOut is currently available on the Symbian and iPhone / iPod Touch clients, and will be rolled out to the other platforms in time.
More information is avaialble from Nimbuzz from their website here.
This is a picture of the new 3UK Mobile Wi-Fi device from Huawei, which is going to be available on 3UK soon. Given the removal of the Huawei-specific D100 Router from the 3Store, and the move back to ZTE USB Mobile Broadband modems, we did wonder whether 3UK might be planning such a device. It’s only 86 x 45 x 10mm (smaller than many mobile phones) and will allow “several” devices to connect to the 3G connection via Wi-Fi. We understand “several” means 5 devices, although whether 5 all actively connecting at once will overload the 3G connection is another matter.
It can also be connected via USB directly to a computer, but early Huawei branded versions did not allow simultaneous connection via USB and Wi-Fi, so when connected via USB, these devices no longer shared the connection; we are not aware of whether or not this issue has been resolved. You do, however, get access to an up to 7.2mbps down, 5.6mbps up connection when directly connected via USB.
Unlike the D100 Router, this device does have a built in 1500 mAh battery, and will recharge via USB, with up to 5 hours access.
We’ve seen this unit referred to as a MiFi device, which is actually a product brand name of a competitor, and not a generic name for these devices, but nonetheless, it looks very interesting, and we’re hoping to get a review unit soon.
Ofcom, the mobile network regulator, have released their own 3G coverage maps, based on data supplied to them by the networks for 31st December 2008. This gives you a good comparison between the networks on who and where you will find 3G networks. Now, the biggest thing to remember is that in the areas of white on the maps, you may still have coverage, but only at 2G or 2.5G. These maps at least give you a good guide to where you can be sure you definitely won’t be getting those nice fast download speeds.
Head here for the maps.
Update: Another option for UK coverage maps is GSMWorld, which can be accessed here.
We first covered the Huawei D100 Router as sold by 3UK earlier this year, but we now see it’s been removed from the 3Store (most likely due to 3UK concentrating on the ZTE USB Modem right now, which is not compatible with the Huawei). Well, courtesy of Hot UK Deals, we’ve been informed that Carphone Warehouse are currently selling their stock of the 3 branded device at half price, which is £34.25. That’s a very good price for the device, although it is limited to only working with 3UK, and, as already stated, needs a Huawei 3UK USB Modem to work. However, once you have that, it will offer you the ability to share your 3UK Mobile Broadband connection with upto 4 other devices via Wi-Fi as long as you have access to a power socket.
Given that this does have these limitations, what are the options for others? Well, the Solwise 3G Router may help out; although it’s designed as an ADSL router, it has a 3G failback capability (ie when the ADSL line is down, it will use a 3G USB Modem instead). Now, because this isn’t being sold by any particular network, it’s not limited to one mobile network, and also supports a whole range of USB Modems, including a number of ZTE models as well. It can even support some mobile phones being connected via USB if you have one lying around spare.
As the Solwise has both an ethernet port and Wi-Fi capability, it can act as a nice portable connection sharing device too. The Solwise is a little more expensive at £60 though (although for another few pounds you can get a Euro plug adaptor for the same device given you the ability to use it across Europe; although use a local SIM or be prepared for some horrendous data roaming charges!).
Both these devices still have one problem; the USB Mobile Broadband Dongle has to be physically located close to the main unit (and hence a power socket); if this location does not have the best 3G signal, then you should head over to Mobile Fun, who sell external aerials and signal boosters for the majority of USB Modems on the market (and have some generic ones for those without external antenna sockets). Finally, it’s not clear if Carphone Warehouse are selilng the Black or White variant (or if you get a choice when ordering online), so it may be prudent to go to your local store if you are looking for a particular colour.
We should say that T-Mobile have a similar unit, but it’s only available with a new Mobile Broadband contract, so if you already have a device, there’s no wasy way of purchasing one…
We’re not quite sure what to make of this, but we are certainly intrigued; it’s not Pay As You Go, it’s not a traditional contract option, and it’s not quite a 30-day rolling contract either…
3UK will, from tomorrow, start selling the SIM Zero contract from their 3Store. Having already released a £9 per month contract, and then networks such as Orange released a £5 per month contract with a 3 year (yes, really!) minimum contract, and now 3UK have set the ultimate challenge, a contract with zero cost per month. Of course, they aren’t the first to try this, with a similar pricing model having been available from Virgin for a while…
It features the same basic prices as the PAYG option, and includes many of the same facilities, but I guess the difference is that instead of needing to constantly topup your phone, you will simply get a bill at the end of each billing cycle with the costs you have spent.
So, calls will cost 20p per minute, texts 10p each, it’s 30p per mb of data (no word if you can add the standard Internet Addon though, giving upto 2GB of data for £5 per month), and like many SIM-only deals, will come with a 1 month minimum term and then 1 month’s notice to cancel (which makes it a minimum 2 months term to us…)
Of course, as this is 3UK, there are a whole range of additional benefits too; Free Skype-Skype calls and messages (upto 4,000 minutes and 10,000 messages per month), Free Windows Live Messenger (also 10,000 messages per month), Free voicemail in the UK; in fact the only difference between this and a more expensive contract from 3UK is there are no inclusive 3UK-3UK minutes included.
This looks like it might be a very interesting option for those who want a contract, but are not heavy users, and with the inclusion of the Skype Free Calls Forever, it may well suit many people; for those that don’t already have a compatible phone (especially for the Skype part of the deal, 3UK are happy for you to buy a PAYG phone like the INQ1 or Skypephone S2 and use this SIM in the phone).
More details will be available from the 3Store tomorrow when this tariff formally launches.
Update: 3UK have confirmed that the standard £5 per month 2GB Internet data Addon is available on this tariff.
INQ, the makers of the INQ1 phone sold by 3UK have reminded us that it’s possible to access your Google Mail (GMail) account directly on the INQ1 phone. Actually, it’s possible to access a whole raft of mail accounts on the phone, but INQ have pointed us to 2 different ways of accessing GMail (which, to be fair, apply to quite a large range of the 3 UK mobile phones).
Email on 3; the first method is to use the Email on 3 solution. If you have this installed on your phone, simply launch it, and select to add a new email account, and there will be an option for Google Mail
GMail itself; the other option is to download the Google Mail client, which is accessible on the INQ1 via Switcher > Google > Google Mail
Of course, it’s best to have internet access enabled on your phone, which is possible whether you have a PAYG or contract version at £5 per month / 30 days), as this will help to get the most out of this phone. Finally, don’t forget that the INQ1 is a Skype enabled handset, and hence, even without a data tariff, you can use it to access Skype for the Skype Free Calls Forever promotion.
We first covered Bill Monitor here, and since then they have made a number of updates to their free service, which looks at your mobile phone bill (you can either enter the overall details manually, or for some networks, it can access your last few recent online bills automatically). These updates include keeping their tariff data up to date, improving their roaming options, and a website redesign.
However, the big news is that they are the first (and currently only) website approved by OfCom as a Price Comparison Calculator for mobile phone bills. We really like BillMonitor, and recommend everyone should use it once in a while to check two things:
Well done to the guys at BillMonitor for their accreditation by OfCom (you can read OfCom’s statement regarding BillMonitor here).
Telecom operators may not like it, but OfCom has just announced a new set of rules for 0870 numbers (which, many years ago, would be included in voice minute bundles, but haven’t been for some time). Of course, we say, simply head off to http://saynoto08070.com and find out an equivalent number that can come out of your minutes, but OfCom new rules, which come into effect in August, may make it a little better for you…
Firstly, they are trying to encourage all telecom providers (of fixed and mobile phones) to include the minutes anyway, and not separate them out (they are also hoping to reduce the cost of calling these numbers). But for those that do separate them out (and charge for them), the customers must clearly know how much they are going to be charged; if the call will be charged at above normal geographic rates, then there are now strict rules on the how prices must be publicised on promotional material and at point of sale areas.
OfCom state “Under the new requirements CPs [Communication Providers] will be obliged to include a prominent statement in advertising/promotional material whether or not 0870 calls are included in inclusive packages and bundles. One other new requirement is that CPs will only be permitted to refer to 0870 calls as ‘national rate’ in their advertising and promotional material and retail bills where their 0870 and national geographic prices are the same as for geographic calls”.
This should hopefully bode well, and we’re hoping that many of the mobile networks include 0870 in their voice bundles again.
We’ve been a big fan of mobbler, the Symbian S60 client for last.fm, which allows you to scrobble your tracks (record what you have listened to), and also access and play last.fm radio streams. However, this week, last.fm have made two statements which may not help mobbler…
Firstly, due to the lack of an established ad business, last.fm have found it difficult to find advertisers to cover their costs outside of 3 main countries, UK, USA and Germany, and hence all subscribers outside of those countries will need to subscribe and pay €3 per month for access what will remain the “free” service here in the UK.
However, the key issue is their second announcement, which signals the end of 3rd party clients using unofficial API calls to access the streamed music. These old APIs will be switched off (potentially by the end of next week) and new music streaming APIs will be used instead. These new APIs are available to developers to use within their clients, so, unlike some news reports, last.fm are not preventing 3rd party clients from working, simply ensuring that they use the right code to access the streams. There are 2 key points:
Firstly, only subscribers will be able to stream music, unless the developer of the client enters into a specific deal with last.fm
Secondly, last.fm have said that their license prevents the streams being streamed to mobile phones.
Ironically, further clarification seemed to have muddied the water even further. last.fm have stated that this decision is not “set in stone” (which seems bizarre if it’s a licensing issue). Also, last.fm official Android and iPhone/iPod Touch clients do not seem to be affected by this. Finally, they have confirmed that the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, as it is does not contain a SIM card, is not affected, and the 3rd party client Vagalume will still be ok (presumably if it supports the new API). What’s odd about this is that a common method of connecting the N810 to the Internet is via Bluetooth and a mobile phone, so ironically, you will be able to listen to last.fm on an N810 whilst out and about, but won’t be able to listen via your Nokia E71 using Wi-Fi at home (as it’s a device issue, not the actual network connection)…
last.fm need to reconsider this; limiting music streaming to paying subscribers should help ensure a steady revenue model to cover the costs of paying royalties, and allow all users to continue to enjoy the music they want to listen to.
It should be pointed out that there are other 3rd party clients affected, the Pocket Scrobbler on Windows Mobile and FlipSide on the BlackBerry will also be affected. However, neither the Vodafone S60 last.fm client nor 3UK’s INQ1 phone will be affected, as these only supported scrobbling (which remains free and unchanged) and had no music streaming support.
Update: last.fm have now stated “I’m working with third-party mobile client authors at the moment, and I’m fairly confident that we can allow them to use the new API in mobile mode for subscribers” and “I am working to make sure that existing mobile clients like Mobbler will get grandfathered in”, and last.fm have re-confirmed that only paying subscribers will be able to stream music; why they didn’t simply state this, along with the change in API we don’t know, instead of announcing and now, in essence, withdrawing their statements over mobile phone streaming.
Do you have two mobiles? Maybe a work phone / BlackBerry and a personal one? Well, if you do, how do you handle using them legally in the car; some people have two forms of Handsfree, but Bluetooth Multipoint is likely to be a better answer. Multipoint allows the Bluetooth device to establish multiple connections *at the same time* to the various phones, and then when a call comes in, will route that phone to the headset / handsfree kit and allow the call to proceed.
It can also be used at home to allow your SIP / Skype VOIP client and your mobile to share a single headset.
For more information on this fairly new innovation and a list of devices that support it today, head over to Mobile Fun’s website where they have written up a list of devices supporting Bluetooth Multipoint.
Out of the range featured, we quite like the Movon Bluetooth Car Kit MK30, as it also features an OLED display, allowing you to leave those 2 mobiles in your jacket / handbag.
Picture courtesy of Mobile Fun.
This is the new O2 Joggler Home Appliance, with it’s 7″ touchscreen, launched yesterday by O2 UK. It’s an OpenFrame-based products (although it has to be said, there’s very little that’s Open about their products, more below), which offers a chance to become the focal point for the whole family (especially if they are all O2 customers…)
It comes with a range of applications built in, with options to download more over time. These include:
In fact, O2 have already announced that during May the following additional applications will be available:
However, one of the key selling points of this device is the calendar, which is available both on the device and as a standalone free service on the internet. “Appointments, birthdays, school runs, work deadlines and more can all be stored on the O2 Joggler’s calendar, which will text handy reminders to family members’ O2 mobile phones.” That’s last point is quite key; the reminders by SMS are only available to O2 UK customers, which I guess is O2 trying to encourage the whole family to select their mobile network and remain loyal.
It connects to your home Broadband either wirelessly or using an ethernet cable, and needs a permanent power supply (no batteries). There is no in-built SIM and therefore no ongoing costs or monthly subscription, and will be available next month (6th April) at £150, or will be free if you elect to take this device instead of a new handset when your contract is up for renewal. However, this upgrade route is only open to those who are on 18 or 24 months contracts, ie not PAYG or Simplicity (SIM only) customers, although PAYG customers can use part of their upgrade discount to reduce the price of the Joggler, and it’s not available at all as an upgrade deal to corporate customers.
Mobile Industry Review were at the launch, and have even produced a short video and their opinion of the device here.
The device is running a dedicated O2 specific OpenFrame firmware, which although it runs on Linux underneath is not an open platform. As OpenFrame firmwares are only provided to companies who sell these devices like O2, there is no ability (yet) to hack a different firmware onto this device, or to remove the O2 branding. Other devices who have used the OpenFrame software have had additional applications, such as the ability to display photos from Flickr, videos from YouTube, and support for reading RSS feeds, all missing from the O2 device (as Mobile Industry Review point out, some even have a Domino’s Pizza option, but not this one), which does show the potential missed opportunity here.
Mobile Industry Review also point out that they are aware some of the other UK mobile operators are planning similar devices, so this may well be an interesting type of device to keep your eyes on. However, right now, with no support for syncing the calendar from work diaries, or even Google Calendar, nor support for being able to sync the calendar onto phones (irrespective of whether they are S60, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry or iPhone), it does appear they have missed a trick here; an OpenSource equivalent of this, which offered access to other solutions such as Apple’s Mobile.Me or Google would be more popular, and fit better into the likely customer base.
Also announced by O2 is a new family bolt-on for O2 customers. One O2 customers pay extra each month for the bolt-on and this allows them to add a number of other O2 customers into their “family” group (no pricing or maximum numbers available) and once setup, all parties can call, text or MMS each other for free. Link these two solutions together, and you have the potential for the O2 Joggler to become the hub of a small family’s communications, as long as you don’t want to share the calendar from beyond the device.
All in all, an interesting product, but with rumours of new iPhones due out in the next few months, now might not be the best time to use up your O2 upgrade on this device…
We briefly covered this new phone on Friday night, but already more details have been announced, despite it’s official launch still being a week away…
This will be LG’s flagship phone for 2009, and so looks to replace the LG Renoir over time. It features LG’s new 3D user interface, which provides 4 customisable home screens. It will include DivX and Dolby Mobile (both features of the LG Renoir), it will support upto 7.2mbps HSDPA, Wi-Fi, and A-GPS.
The full specification “and other surprises” will be released next Monday.
Thanks to the official LG Blog for the additional information.
We know nothing about the phone, except this picture, and we believe it will be called the LG Arena. The picture has been released by LGBlog as a teaser, and a statement that more will be revealed at MWC (Mobile Web Congress) in mid February. It looks similar in design to the LG Viewty and the LG Renoir, but it may be a more mid-spec phone (as the LG Renoir is still quite new to market). More information within the next two weeks…
Whilst we still (currently) prefer Brightkite as an overall solution, there is a lot of interest in Google’s new Latitude service, which brings the ability to provide your location to your friends. Google have launched this by releasing new versions of Google Maps for Mobile, and have released a web tool (as part of the iGoogle portal).
The web widget will use Google Gears to locate you via nearby WiFi spots, whereas the updated Google Maps will use Cell IDs, Wifi or GPS to provide your location (as before, but now it will publish this online too). You can select to add your friends to share your location with. Although Google Talk is linked into Latitude, it is not yet sharing a common contact list, which is a shame.
You can call, SMS, IM or email each other from within the application too. What’s probably the most key point is that already they are supporting Symbian S60 phones, Android phones, Blackberry phones and Windows Mobile phones, and they have stated they hope to get iPhone support very soon. This is a very good range of support for their first week launching, and by building Latitude into the standard Google Maps for Mobile client it’s likely they will be able to support even more phones over time. Also by using GMM, they already have support for 27 countries and 42 languages!
Although there are some good features in the client (like when you shutdown Google Maps on your phone it asks if you want to continue broadcasting your location), there are other features where other services like Brightkite still seem to have the edge, and it will be interesting to see how well Google develop this in time.
Head to google.com/latitudefrom your mobile phone to download Google Maps with Latitude.
Garmin and Asus have announced a strategic alliance, which will design, manufacture and distribute co-branded location-centric mobile phones under the Garmin-Asus nüvifone brand. They are planning to launch a number of handsets this year and the Garmin-Asus nüvifone G60 (previously Garmin nüvifone) will be the first to be formally launched in two weeks time at MWC (Mobile World Congress), the trade show in Barcelona.
Garmin hope this model will be shipping in the first half of 2009, and have stated it will offer location-based services such as the Garmin navigation software, connected local search and Ciao, “a social networking application that bridges the gap between multiple location based social networks and integrates them seamlessly into one device”, which certainly sounds interesting.
These tariffs were launched yesterday, and (according to O2) represent some of the best deals O2 have offered to date, and they offer a range of options depending on your needs…
If you want flexibility, and already have a phone, then the options are:
Again, if you already have a phone, then if you want to sign up to 12 months instead, these are the options:
These tariffs come with phones, although not all phones will be free on all tariffs…
18 months contract (above), 24 month contracts (below)
These tariffs offer even better value, but will only be available on selected phones:
A range of interesting tariff options, and it will be interesting to see how the other networks react. These tariffs should be available in O2 stores today. It’s nice to see O2 clearly showing the tariffs with the old and new VAT rate too. These are store tariffs only though, you may find that going to the O2 online store and purchasing there may garner slightly better (or at least different) deals.
Nokia have announced plans to launch Home Automation systems towards the end of 2009 (so still a way off unfortunately), which will be based on the Z-Wave and Zigbee technology. They will offer a Home Gateway which will connect via Wi-Fi (with optional GSM/GPRS module) to allow mobile devices such as mobile phones and Nokia Tablets to be able to control a variety of devices. It should be possible to control devices (ie turn them on and off), but also have access to temperature sensors, cameras and motion detectors.
Nokia are saying they will release some retail kits, which will include starter kits, security kits, energy monitoring and baby monitoring kits, branded under the Nokia Home Control name.
Skyfire, an alternative web browser for Symbian and Windows Mobile mobile phones, is now available in an open beta. If you head to the download page (or click below) from your PC you’ll be able to provide your phone number (for a text message to be sent to you), or if you access the page directly from your device you should get a download link. Skyfire will take advantage of either Wi-Fi or 3G (or slower) data links to work. Although it should work on most S60 3rd Edition phones, we’ve heard some people are having problems with certain devices. The latest version is currently 0.85 BETA.
Do we need another browser in the marketplace? Well, possibly; if they provide regular updates and provide new features, this may well become the browser of choice of many. We’ll keep you up to date with how this browser performs over time.